The battleground for security has moved beyond securing devices and
critical infrastructure and instead should focus on protecting the
data being shared through online transactions.
was the message given by Symantec Corp. CEO John W. Thompson to
thousands of attendees at RSA Conference 2007. Enterprises and
vendors need to work together to ensure the online infrastructure,
the information and the interactions, are protected and secured, he
said.
"Today the network perimeter can't be locked down," Thompson
said. "It's no longer defined by the physical assets in the data
center or the desktops in the office. The reality is -- people are
today's new perimeter."
Despite being the subject of recent criticism for an amorphous
market strategy, Thompson cited ways Symantec is maneuvering itself
to become successful in an increasingly competitive security
market. He noted that Symantec is one of several companies that
successfully pushed Microsoft to open the kernel to its new
Windows Vista operating system, enabling
security vendors to create software that supports it.
In remarks that received applause from attendees, Thompson
implied that Symantec wouldn't be afraid to compete head-to-head
against Microsoft in the security market. Microsoft has been
broadening its operating system security to include its own
antivirus software and
smart card identity technology.
"You wouldn't want the company that is keeping your books to
audit your books. That same logic should apply. You wouldn't want
that company that created your company's operating platform to be
the one that is securing it from a broad range of threats," he said
alluding to Microsoft's security strategy.
"It's a huge conflict of interest," Thompson added. "By working
together we can untangle this conflict of interest. Through
cooperation and collaboration and healthy competition I have no
doubt that we can create the confidence our connected world
needs."
Despite Thompson's opinion, some attendees said that Microsoft
has shown signs that it plans to cooperate with other vendors to
protect critical data. Gerard P. Duguay, assistant director of
computer and information systems at Seattle Pacific University, has
been using Windows Vista for several months and said Microsoft's
operating system security enhancements are compelling.
"A lot of software, products and hardware we've bought by way of
security over past five years are based on the fact that the
operating system doesn't do it for you," Duguay said. "While
there's this whole trusted security initiative, I don't think there
has been many improvements to the degree that we really can trust
the computers we're using."
Symantec as of late has retooled its strategy to broaden its
scope beyond security as Microsoft increasingly takes up space in
its native territory, said Natalie Lambert, an analyst with
Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc.
"Organizations with demanding security needs will want broader
functionality from various vendors like McAfee and Symantec," she
said. "But Microsoft has made many moves to be an all encompassing
vendor." Thompson touted his company's recent
acquisition of IT management software vendor
Altiris Inc. to improve endpoint security. Thompson said the
move will enable customers to better manage and enforce security
policies at the endpoint, identify and protect against threats,
and repair and service assets.
He also touted his company push in identity management with the
unveiling of an identity system called the Norton Identity Client,
software designed to provide consumers with online credentials and
give them protected access anywhere they transact on the Internet.
The company expects to roll out the client over the next two
years.
Still, Thompson said, it's going to take partnerships among
vendors and enterprises to boost online consumer confidence.
"No one company is going to secure everybody and certainly no
one can do it alone," he said. "No company is so dominant or so all
knowing that it can provide the level of confidence needed
throughout the entire online world."
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